Welcome to spencer's Roundeo.

I realized recently that I rarely write a blog about what is going on, normally I just let Harmony do that.  But I should probably share my thoughts on our life's adventures.  So here's a story of our trip to Normandie France.

Have you ever heard of Mont St. Michel?  I first heard about it in my French class in 10th grade.  Ever since then it has been a dream of mine to see it (seriously), and thanks to the Cowan family, I've realized that dream.  The Cowans - our twin family in Geneva - planned a trip to the Normandie area of France and invited us to join them.

Paris (Disneyland actually)

We started off at Disneyland Paris.  We thouroughly enjoyed it, even though it was quite crowded on Ascension day (France and Switzerland, and I suppose many other european countries have this day off).  Harmony planned out the whole thing and we got a lot of it done.  They have a different space mountain ride with a loop and some twists - quite intense actually (Cado wasn't tall enough to go on it).

Notice the Sleeping Beauty-esque trees surrounding the castle.

Normandie Beaches

The next day we visited the Normandie beaches (Utah and Omaha) and the American Cemetery.  It was very sobering and touching to visit a place where so many lives were heroically sacrificed for the freedoms of others.  A proud American moment.

A representation of the D-Day debarquement (whatever that is in english) by US and British troops.  This was at Point du Hoc where the rangers first climbed the cliff walls and took out German artillery.

While at the memorial cemetery we went down to the beach and lost track of time.  When we got back up to the cemetery, the grounds had been closed and we had the place to ourselves.  It was peaceful and enjoyable.  However, we were also locked in.  By the time we made it back to our car (after a slight reprimand from the guardian who let us out) Cado was so happy, he hugged the car.

Cado so happy to be back at the car after getting locked into the memorial grounds after closing.

Mont St. Michel

I can't explain why this one site has always been something I've wanted to see, maybe just because it is cool.  Mont St. Michel is an abbey/church built on a rock/moutain off the shore.  At high tide it is an island, the rest of the time it is possible to walk to it.  The parking lot closes to it has signs saying "at 6:07 p.m. today this parking lot will be covered with water.  Be sure to move your care before then."  We got to go through the winding streets of the town below (by town I mean tourist shops and restaurants) and a visit through the abbey at the top. It was worth the visit and you should go someday.  The kids and I took off our shoes (and the kids, their pants) and we went and walked through the mud that is covered with water at high tide.

Realizing my (never before divulged) lifelong dream of visiting Mont St. Michel.

We then went to the bretagne area of France and visited the port town of St. Malo.  Also very much worth the visit.  Ate crepes for dinner and more crepes for dessert.  Sunday we went to church in Caen France at a branch there and then drove home.

Thanks Cowans!